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Trial Is Set for April 2020

Workers’ rights lawyers at Valerian Law, P.C. and Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP are pursuing a Private Attorney General Act enforcement action against Aurora Santa Rosa and Signature Healthcare for California Labor Code violations occurring from April 2016 to the present. The action encompasses Signature’s local hospitals throughout California, including Santa Rosa, Covina, Pasadena, Bakersfield, San Diego, Ventura, and Roseville.

In this whistleblower lawsuit, our client, Plaintiff Teresa Brooke, is seeking an award of monetary penalties on behalf of Aurora/Signature employees and the State of California. In addition, she seeks what is known as “injunctive” relief: an order directing Aurora/Signature to change its business practices to address the alleged violations and ensure patient and worker safety going forward. Plaintiff also claims that she was illegally fired for her actions in opposition to Aurora/Signature’s practices.

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The lawsuit potentially affects all employees in California from April 2016 to present. The case is currently set for trial in April 2020.

To further our investigation and preparation for trial, we wish to speak with former or current employees regarding their experiences working for Aurora Santa Rosa and/or Signature Healthcare. Please note that it would be against the law for Aurora Santa Rosa or Signature to retaliate against you for contacting us.

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We are investigating these problems, among other matters:

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Failure to implement an Injury and Illness Prevention Program;

Confidentiality policies and anti-whistleblowing practices that restrict employees from reporting to government entities and from engaging in other advocacy on behalf of patients and staff.

Understaffing of the patient units (too few registered/licensed nurses, mental health workers, and other staff to meet patient needs and prevent adverse incidents);

Unsafe working conditions caused by understaffing and by other issues creating undue risks of injury and illness to nurses and staff members;

Meal and rest break violations, in which employees had late, short, or missed breaks; were discouraged from claiming and reporting such breaks; and were not fully paid for all late, short, or missed breaks; and

Not enough suitable seating to complete paperwork/charting at nurses’ stations.

We invite employees to contact us to share their experiences or observations.